Juliet: Három történet

by Alice Munro

Alice Munróról azt tartják, hogy az emberi szív minden rezdülésének hangot tud adni. Az Esély, Hamarosan, Csend című történetekben, melyekből Pedro Almodóvar Julieta címen rendezett filmet, ismét rácsodálkozhatunk virtuozitására. A három történetből az bontakozik ki, hogy néhány találkozás – flörtölés egy idősebb férfival a vonaton; később fiatal anyaként látogatás a szülői házba; még később a kapcsolatkeresés elidegenedett felnőtt lányával – hogyan alakítja Juliet, a klasszika-filológia-tanár sorsát. Mint minden Munro-karakter, Juliet is melegséget, méltóságot és reményt sugároz, még az árulás és a veszteség legfájdalmasabb pillanataiban is. Alice Munro elbeszélésében Juliet utazása éppoly különleges, meglepő és rendkívüli, mint az élet maga.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Canada, Short Story Collection

172 pages, Paperback

First published December 13, 2016

About the author

Collections of short stories of noted Canadian writer Alice Munro of life in rural Ontario include Dance of the Happy Shades (1968) and Moons of Jupiter (1982); for these and vivid novels, she won the Nobel Prize of 2013 for literature.

People widely consider her premier fiction of the world. Munro thrice received governor general's award. She focuses on human relationships through the lens of daily life. People thus refer to this "the Canadian Chekhov."

(Arabic: أليس مونرو)
(Persian: آلیس مانرو)
(Russian Cyrillic: Элис Манро)
(Ukrainian Cyrillic: Еліс Манро)
(Bulgarian Cyrillic: Алис Мънро)
(Slovak: Alice Munroová)
(Serbian: Alis Manro)

Reviews

[George Ilsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The movie Julieta (Pedro Almodóvar) takes three stories by Alice Munro, puts them into a blender, pulverizes various themes and uses a visual strainer to impose a new order and meaning.

Also the original setting in North America is moved to Spain.

Surprisingly—much of the original stories is unchanged; and yet, everything is different.

Dedicated fans of Alice Munro will probably have already read these stories, but it is certainly interesting to view them in this new context, and to compare the originals to the adaptation.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I know Munro is highly regarded (Nobel Prize winner, and all that), I only seem to read her when someone does a film adaptation of her work. My only previous experience of her was 'The Bear Came Over the Mountain', after seeing Sarah Polley's fine movie version, "Away From Her'. Now. impelled by Pedro Almodovar's adaptation, I wanted to see what the original three stories looked like, as obviously the director's vision, set in Spain, must have been wildly different. But no, aside from some judicious edits, and some divergent emphases, the movie is fairly faithful to Munro's original. It's a quick and quirky story, and my only complaints are some abrupt and awkward temporal shifts, and that a grown son for Eric is suddenly introduced in the third story - where has he been up till then (... since he would have been about 8 or 9 during the course of the second story, and is not mentioned at all)?

[Lex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A story about complex relationships and the messiness of life. These are three short stories that connect and jump from three different stages of Julieta’s life creating a complete cohesive story.

[Alysson Oliveira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Depois de reler os três contos de Alice Munro que serviram de base para Almodóvar fazer Julieta (“Chance”, “Soon” e “Silence”, todos publicados na New Yorker e depois na coletânea Runaway), fiquei pensando porque o filme não funciona muito bem – ao menos para mim, e me veio a hipótese. Munro é uma escritora altamente Tchekhoviana, bem contida, quase minimalista, tudo nela conta, cada palavra tem uma razão de estar na página.

Almodóvar é, ao menos nos últimos anos, um cineasta de melodramas, um gênero marcado pela potencialização, pelos exageros dos sentimentos, das formas, da expressão. E não tem nada errado nisso. São dois estilos apenas. Não que seria impossível os combinar, mas o que o diretor tentou fazer foi buscar um meio-termo entre a obra da canadense e a dele, e, para mim, não funciona. Trai a ambos.

Se Munro não fosse tão conhecida, e seu estilo tão marcante, talvez ele não quisesse ser tão fiel a ela. Falta, creio, ao filme Julieta tomar o material original para si, se apoderar dele, e depois jogar fora – como, por exemplo, Coppola fez com Conrad em Apocalypse Now.

Uns 10 anos atrás, havia um projeto de Jane Campion adaptar o conto Runaway/A Fugitiva. Nunca saberemos o que sairia dali, mas dado o histórico da diretora, creio que ela tem uma sensibilidade muito mais afinada com o material de Munro. De qualquer forma, foi legal voltar a esses contos 15 anos depois de os ter lido pela primeira vez.

[Laura]

Loved these three stories and following Juliet and her complex family dynamics.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I understand it, these three "Juliet" stories were pulled from a larger Munro collection titled "Runaway" (2004). Nothing in Munro land, with its subtle shadings and nuanced truths, is so overtly dramatic as running away. (Drifting, maybe.) Oh, maybe that's what happens in the other stories, but I sort of doubt it. In the Juliet stories, which would go on to comprise the basis for a recent movie (which I have not seen), the reader follows the arc (or anti-arc, if you will) of a woman in three phases of her life. In the first story, "Chance," the reader meets Juliet, a young 21 year old soon-to-be teacher of classics, on a train trip. She's something of a prodigy, and an eccentric (like her parents). Being a student of the classics, one gathers that this (now) peculiar area of study is something of a safe place, a return point for the young woman. Juliet's train ride is, I suppose, her "runaway" moment. Her escape from a previous life of school, parents, and conventional expectations. She's on her way. Surprisingly, as she looks at the window, she finds herself drawn to cold landscape outside:

"Personal fate was not the point, anyway. What drew her in -- enchanted her actually -- was the very indifference , the repetition, the carelessness and contempt for harmony, to be found on the surface of the Precambrian field."

This "indifference" will soon reveal itself in a tragedy involving a distressed man, and a meeting with a man who will soon be her lover, and will, after this "chance" meeting, see Juliet's moving to a remote fishing village. Fate unwinds as it must.

In the second story, "Soon," the reader encounters Juliet several years later, with an infant daughter (Penelope), visiting her aging parents. The mother, Sara, has health problems, and probably some dementia. The father, Sam, a former school teacher, seems frustrated, a bit horny toward some local help ("Irene") he has coming in to help with the chores. The story operates as something of a bridge, but it provides further understanding of Juliet's character. Her parents are quirky small town eccentrics. Juliet isn't as eccentric as these two, but you sense her own strong desire to find her own way.

The third story, "Silence," finds an older Juliet, who is now "widowed" (though she never married), and something of a television celebrity, searching for her teenaged daughter, who apparently has become involved in some sort of religious cult. She never really finds her, though she does seem to get some comforting information late in the story. It doesn't sound like much, but in a late paragraph, when I wondered if the story simply a three lane road to nowhere, Munro reveals her quiet wisdom. There are no heroes or villains here. Just life (or lives) carefully considered in well crafted prose. I'll be pondering this sequence of stories for a while.

[Kovaxka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almodóvar miatt kezdtem bele, mert a filmmel megvett magának, de a Nobel-díjas írónőtől eddig tartottam. Azt hiszem, kezdésnek a legjobb volt, mert bár nem szerettem bele ebbe a szenvtelen stílusba, fogok még próbálkozni további novellákkal.

A három történet Juliet életének fontos szakaszait ábrázolja, kapcsolatait, szerelmét, anyaságát. Szüleivel való viszonyát sokkal árnyaltabbnak találtam, mint a filmben. Igaz, a rendező Spanyolországba tette át a történetet, egy teljesen különböző kultúrkörbe. (Ez egyébként sokkal közelebb áll hozzám.) A filmbeli lezárás azonban megnyugtatóbb volt számomra a lezáratlan novelláknál.

[Lina · Rating 5 out of 5]

In anticipation of Pedro Almodóvar's upcoming "Julieta", I read the three short stories, Chance, Soon, and Silence. Each story is a snapshot of the protagonist, Juliet, at different stages of her life: as a single young woman doing her Ph.D thesis in classics riding the train and starting an affair with the father of her child, as an unmarried mother of a toddler visiting her parents in a small town, and as a middle-aged woman, grieving and mourning for the protracted estrangement of her daughter. The stories thread the theme of grief and loss, which is felt more as Juliet grows older and configures and confines her life to a dwindling existence, all while she holds out for a glimmer of hope.

[Alice Benson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three connected short stories about Julieta, exploring three different periods of her life. These stories inspired a movie. I haven't seen the movie, but the stories are wonderful. Alice Munro writes characters who are rich and full and complex.

[☆ lydiature ☆ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i’d never heard of the author or this book. i had actually discovered this at my local library. its slimness and cover attracted me. and the synopsis seemed interesting.

“julieta” has an interesting premise. it’s a collection of 3 connected short stories. they are like snapshots of the protagonist’s (juliet’s) life. the stories show juliet at arguably 3 important parts of a woman’s life (just generalizing )—early adulthood, early motherhood, and empty nester.

i admit, it took me a hot minute to get into the story. but once i got into it, i was HOOKED. the writing style was so calming, and it gave fall and winter vibes and the best possible way. the writing style also molded to juliet’s personality—calm, introspective, a little reserved. i love when authors do that. the writing style also reminded me of sally rooney’s “normal people” and claire keegan’s “small things like these.” very meditative. and melancholic with touches of hope.

this is one of those books you have to take your time with to fully enjoy. yes, it’s 118 pages. reading this slowly allows the characters and plot to sit with you. it truly feels like you watched juliet grow more into her womanhood as she grappled with the world around her and her relationship with her daughter.

i really enjoyed this book. definitely a top 20 book for sure. i’ll definitely check out the author.

[Sara Cunningham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a meditation on the life of one woman, Juliet. We begin with her as a young woman traveling to a new job, where she meets a man.

Next we come back to Juliet a few years later, pregnant, returning home to visit her parents.

Lastly, we encounter Juliet as a woman with a successful career and a fully grown child.

Each story meditates on the stages in life—what do we want? What is happiness? In each story, mistakes are made, self reflection is done, and ultimately Juliet changes and lives her life, just as we all do.

The writing was beautiful and devastating. We learned everything we needed to, yet now that the book is over, I still know nothing.

[Alex Falconer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book all in one afternoon and evening - there was something very unflinching and true to life about it. One thing I couldn't understand was why Juliet didn't tell Penelope about her father's death after it happened, and why she had his funeral without her. She doesn't reflect later that this could have been the reason for Penelope's estrangement from her. In a way, this lack of reflection shows consistency of character, but it is so seemingly outside the bounds of human behaviour as to be unbelievable. Is emotional blindness Juliet's major flaw? Is it a counterweight to her intellect?

[Myra Leysorek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Id read these stories before, in the original collection Runaway, but I found it worthwhile to reread them after seeing the movie they inspired. And now I think I should reread the collection as Munro arranged them, to find the connections that she made by putting them with others. But it was a nice way to round out the experience of seeing the movie, to see how Almodovar changed the stories to make a movie plot.

[KrisAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally random pickup from the library that I wouldn't have bothered with if I just had the original Munro collection in my hands (I haven't seen the movie, so no context for me there)--it probably would be more interesting to read these stories with her sequencing, and with whatever resonance the other stories might bring, or the space that the other stories would add. But I like the life story that these 3 add up to, and Munro is ace as usual.

[Mommooshka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed Munro's writing style. I don't usual enjoy short stories and this book was written as three connected short stories progressing the life of Julieta over three periods of yl her life.

She does an excellent job of describing Julieta's thoughts and feelings as well as experiences at each stage before jumping years ahead. It was an emersive read, enjoyable although not always pleasant.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd really give this 3.5 stars. It's a short collection of three short stories by Alice Munro all of them having the same main character Julieta. In the collection, the reader can see the whole progression of Julieta's adult life. Alice Munro is a genius at creating a whole life and scene in as few words as possible.

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Master writer with such elegant subtleness, as a whisper in the ear, Munro tells the life of Juliet to the reader. I found the protagonist likeable, intelligent and above all human. I intend to watch the movie soon to relive these images.

[Richard Lehingrat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silence is the best of the bunch about Juliets search for her missing daughter. ***

[Mary Sisney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I didn't like the main character (Juliet) in this collection of three related stories, Munro's portraits of sick women and dysfunctional relationships are intriguing.

[Bianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recommend reading the book first before watching the film Julieta. Pedro Almodóvar brings to life the character Juliet from the pages to the big screen.

[Louise · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just not for me really, didn't really grab my attention, pleasant enough but not very interesting.

[Starre Vartan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does anyone capture the horrible sadness of the human condition like Munro?

[anna b · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the style of the book, how different stages of life transit through the three stories but I can't feel much from the book other than a tinge of poignancy.

[Jasmine Gu · Rating 5 out of 5]

如果说电影最后给了我们这对母女关系会好的一丝希望，那原著的绝望程度把这丝微光彻底掐灭。没有什么仇怨，只是互相疏远的一对母女觉得彼此在自己生命中似乎没什么用处和意义，见面只会徒增情感共享的伤痛。过于细腻的情感和心理描写，常常让我泪流满面。

[Luke Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but powerful story of a mother and daughter. A real masterclass in doing a lot with very little. The characters almost step off the page acompanied by sparce, evocative description

[Ian Marck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow and with shallow characters, how could she have won a Nobel prize? It’s the third work of hers that I read and cannot stay on top of her shallow narrative.

[Althea Kriney]

what is this title and book cover? travesty

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting, but kind of a bummer too. Doubt I'll read another by her.

[Caitlín Ní Dochartaigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually already read these in another one of her collections but I didn't realise till half way through lol

[Tayfun Sen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alice Munro is a first class story writer. I had read some of her stories in the New Yorker, but it's refreshing to read in book form too. Looking forward to reading her other books.